Power-transmitting mechanism.



J. J. GILROY.

POWER TRANSMITTING MEGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1905.

Patented Sept. 15, 1908 jyj..

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JAMES J. GILROY, OF LOST CREEK, PENNSYLVANIA.

POWER-TRANSMITTING MEQHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented Sept. 15, 1908.

Application filed March 9, 1905. Serial No. 249,255,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES J. GILROY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lost Creek, the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Power-Transmitting Mechanism, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to ower transmitting mechanism, particular y intended for coperation with parallel shafts, one of which may be the driving or line shaft, and the other a driven or power transmitting shaft.

In the use of ordinary intermeshing toothed gears for transmitting motion from one shaft to another, more or less friction exists, and a portion of the transmitted power is absorbed or lost by reason of the presence of such friction between the intermeshing 20 elements. In power transmitting devices employing friction disks there is also a loss of power and an unreliable transmissionlof motion due to an impositive contact of the disks. Furthermore, in power transmitting devices ,in connection with shafts having movable elements directly held in the pe-I riphery, the friction is materially reduced as compared to toothed gears and smooth friction disks, but the strain on the heads carry- J3@ ing these movable peripheral devices having effect in radial directions with respect to such heads is a detriment, especially to the bearings of the shafts involved, as the tendency is to force the shafts apart and cause such shafts to wear against aportion of their boxes with greater force than the remaining parts of such boxes, and as such wear ensues the motion ofithe shafts-and the transmission of power from one tothe other is disadvantageously effected;

vIn the resent mechanism two disks or heads of different diameters are positioned in overlapping relation, one being carried by a driving shaft and the other by a driven shaft, and each having thereon a series of rollers of different diameters, and the larger rollers on the disk of greater diameter moving in and out with respect to the smaller rollers on the other disk, and avoiding strain on the bearings of the shafts in view of their movable application and the particular manner in which they exert an operative tension with relation to the shafts, and which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of mechanism embodying the features of thehnvention. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the same.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in the views.

The numeral l designates a driving shaft,

which may be of any length, or be what is usually known as an engine shaft; or in some instances itmay .be a shaft to which the power from an engine or motor is transmitted. On this shaft is fixed, to rotate therewith, a head or disk 2 having a series of rollers 3 disposed on one face thereof and lying close to said face and projecting inwardly over the latter, the mtles or supporting means for the said ro ers being preferably located inwardly a distance from the periphery of the disk 2.

Arranged adjacent to the .shaft l is a power transmitting shaft 4, having a head or disk 5 fixed thereto, and of smaller dimensions than the head or disk 2. On the face of the head or disk 5, adjacent the head or disk 2 carrying the rollers 8, rollers 6 are applied and have their pivots or supporting means also applied to inwardly from the periphery of said latter disk, said disk 5 being materially less in diameter than the disk 2. The rollers on the disk 2 are four in number, and those on the the disk 5 a distance disk 5 are threein number; and it has been found in practicethat this proportion gives the best results, or, in other words, one disk should have lthereon an odd number of rollers and the other an even number to effect a positive registration and accurate contact of the one set of rollers by the other. The distance between the two sets of rollers is such that the set carried by the one head or disk can move inwardly and outwardly between the set of rollers carried by the other head or disk, and the rollers 3, for instance, regu larly contact `with the rollers 6 with such force and in such directions as to'cause the motion of the shaft 1 to be regularly transmitted to the shaft 4.` As the rollers 3 and 6 move on their axes, friction of the coperating parts will be practically overcome, and the most forceful contact betweenthe rollers of the two heads willv result when the engaging rollers have their vertical diameters in alinement and at such time either a downward or an upward thrust will be imparted by one set of rollers to the other, in accordance with the direction of rotation of the shaft 1. Before each roller 6 becomes operatively disengaged from two of the rollers 3, for example, a succeeding roller 6 will have passed in the space between the succeeding roller 3, one of the latter being that just engaged by the receding roller 6. As will be understood, t e rollers 6 move toward the rollers 3 in true arcs, and the rollers of the two heads or disks are regularly spaced to permit this operation. During the operation of the rollers on the contiguous faces of the transmitting mechanism just described wherever it may be found applicable. By having the disks differing in dlameter the one shaft, or that carrying the smaller disk, will be caused to rotate faster or have -a greater number of revolutions than the other shaft on the same principle as toothed gearing or friction disks varymg in diameter on adjacent shafts and transmitting power from one to the other.

It is obvious that one rotation of the larger disk on the driving shaft will roduce a greater number of rotations of t e smaller disk of the driven shaft, and the difference inv diameters of the sets of rollers, which is in proportion to the diameters of the disks, permits the roper meshing operation of the sets of rolIers and also the use of a greater number of rollers on one disk than on the other within given proportions of the two disks. The two disks have their contiguous faces in parallel lanes and the rollers'on the disks also have t eir inner faces arallel with the adjacent faces of the disks, t e overlap of the one disk with respect to the other being carried out to such an extent as to produce a practical operating edge contact between the two sets o rollers, the disks being at such distance apart that the rollers thereon when in contact aredisposed between the overlapping portions of the disks and thus braced or reinforced, The use of rollers projecting inwardly from the faces of the opposing disks insures an easy or anti-frictional coperating relation of the two heads or disks, and furthermore, by locating the pintles of the rollers inwardly from the eri heries of the disks the rollers are cause to ave contact nearer the centers of the disks with increased operating ower, and fracture of the disks between the fulcrums of the rollers and the peripheries of the disks is less liable to occur in view of the greater amount of metal or material between the fulcrums and disk peripheries than would be the case if the fulcrums were located at the edge or on the peripheries of the said disks. y

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, is:

1. In a power transmitting mechanism,the combination of shafts in the same horizontal plane and also in parallel planes and extendmg in o posite directions, one terminal of each sha t being adjacent to the terminal of the other, heads or disks fixed to the contiguous terminals of the two shafts and having their faces partially overlapping and in planes parallel to each other, the disks differing in diameter, and sets of rollers on the faces of the respective disks, the rollers on the disks of greater diameter being of greater diameter than the rollers on the smaller disk, the rollers being movable inwardly and outwardly over the disks between each other, the inner opposing faces of the rollers being also in planes parallel with the contiguous faces of the disks, and the rollers of one disk having the most forceful contact with .the rollers of the other disk when arriving in cooperative relation with the vertical diameters of the latter rollers and subsequently moving past such diameters of the respective rollers to avoid forcing the shafts with greater press'ure against parts of the shaft bearings than against the remaining portions of said bearg2. In a ower transmitting mechanism, the combinatlon of shafts arranged in the same horizontal plane, heads or disks of differing diameters fixed to the shafts and having overlapping contiguous faces, and sets of rollers held on the contiguous faces of the heads for edge engagement of one set of rollers with the other set of rollers, the rollers having their axes located inwardly a distance from the peripheries of their respective heads or disks to bring the said rollers nearer the centers of the disks, and the rollers on the larger disk being of greater diameter than those on the smaller disk.

3. In a power transmitting mechanism, the combination of a driving shaft, a head or disk fixed thereon, rollers having their axes located inwardly a distance from the periphery of the disk', a driven shaft, a head or disk fixed on the said driven shaft and of less diameter than the aforesaid head or disk, rollers arranged on the latter disk similarly to those on the said head or disk of the driving shaft, the opposing faces of the two disks in parallel planes and overlapping, and the rollers on the head or disk of the driving shaft being greater in .diameter than those on the head or disk of the driven shaft and both sets of rollers having their inner faces parallel with the contiguous faces of the disks carrying the same. 4. In a power transmitting mechanism, the combination of parallel shafts, heads or disks iixed to the shaft terminals and having overlapping contiguous faces, the heads or disks differing in diameter, and rollers on the contiguous faces of the heads or disks, the axes of the rollers being located inwardly a distance from the pe i heries of the respective heads or disks and t e rollers of one disk contacting with and movable inwardlyT and out- Wardly between the rollers of the other disk.

5. In a power transmitting mechanism, the combination of a driving shaft and a driven shaft, a head fixed to the driving shaft, a head fixed to the driven shaft and of less'diameter than the head upon the driving shaft,

said heads having overlapping contiguous faces, and rollers on the contiguous faces of nesses.

JAMES J. GILROY. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. HYER, GEO. W. REA. 

